THE ‘LIFE-CHANGING’ AVOCADO HACK
These tricks will prolong your fruit’s life if done correctly, writes Megan Baadjies
HOW many times have you eaten half an avocado and days later the other half ended up in the bin because your green avo has turned brown?
In my case, this happens a lot. I love an avo as much as the next person, but when the craving hits I always have to think twice before buying an avocado.
A half-eaten avocado is arguably one of the most difficult fruits to store.
Thanks to a simple hack you can now save your avo for later and it won’t change in colour.
Brushing a layer of oil on the flesh of an avocado is one of the best ways to prevent it from browning.
It’s a trick which I’ve used many times myself, using olive oil and it really works!
An unknown woman (unfortunately, not me) has set the internet on fire with this clever hack and the millions of followers of the Banting and Paleo diets, all avid consumers of avos, are singing her praises.
The Daily Mail reports that the “quick-thinking avocado lover” uses melted coconut oil on the flesh to keep it sealed.
“Brush melted coconut oil over your avocado to keep it sealed,” she shared on Facebook, with a picture of her avocado to prove how well the trick works.
According to the British tabloid, many people praised the woman with one user calling the trick “lifechanging”.
Avocados turn brown because they contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which oxidises when it comes into contact with the air and causes the flesh of the fruit to change colour.
The oil prevents the air from reaching the flesh, which ensures that the fruit stays green for longer.
If for some reason you don’t have or want to use oil, there are other clever hacks to keeping your avo ripe:
Squeezing lemon juice over an avo is another way to prevent browning.
You can also store your avocado in a container with an onion.
If you want to keep your halved avo for a few weeks, wikiHow shares a hack where you can store them in the freezer with the side face up. Spray lemon juice onto the exposed surface and cover the plate with plastic wrap before you put it in the freezer.
The South African Avocado Growers’ Association share these handy tips on ways to store your overripe avos until they’re ready to enjoy:
Avocados always ripen from the round end of the fruit, then continue up to the stem end, and should be carefully stored to avoid spoilage.
If you prefer to buy hard avocados, just keep them at room temperature until they are ripe.
To speed up the ripening process, place avocados in a fruit bowl with other fruit, especially bananas – or better still, put them in a brown paper bag with a few bananas.
Hard, unripe avocados can be kept refrigerated for a few days to prevent ripening.
The best temperature is 6 – 7°C (normal household fridge temperature).
Lower temperatures should be avoided.
Moving avocados in and out of cold storage repeatedly is very bad for the fruit quality.
When avocados are ripe, they can be stored at 4°C without damage occurring.
If avocados are stored for too long at low temperatures they will show typical signs of chilling injury – blackening of the skin and internal grey or brown discolouration.